The Life of Judge H.H. Lovett
Part 9:
Political Heritage
Written by Justin Lamb
Throughout his life and political career H. H. Lovett was a member of the Democratic Party, but was often at odds with the leaders of his party due to his conservative ideology.
Since its founding in 1842, Marshall County was solidly in the Democratic Party’s column and this loyalty was solidified after the War Between the States. The war strongly influenced political allegiances for years to come as ex-Confederates became Democrats and the Union veterans belonged to Lincoln’s Republican Party. Partisian loyalties in Kentucky were best explained by Malcolm E. Jewell and Everett W. Cunningham in their 1968 book entitled Kentucky Politics, “The Civil War and Reconstruction had an enduring effect on partisan politics in Kentucky. The return of ex-soldiers from both armies, with their wartime loyalties transferred into partisan loyalties, increased the bitterness of partisan conflict.” The Lovett family had relatives, friends, and neighbors in the Confederate army thus their devotion remained with the Democratic Party for many years following the war. Marshall County was firmly Democratic and was known throughout the state for garnering staggering numbers for Democratic candidates. In fact, in 1857 the Kentucky Democratic Party presented Marshall County with a banner for recognition for casting the biggest Democratic majority in the state during the 1856 presidential election. It was once said by Kentucky Congressman William Voris Gregory that in western Kentucky “you don’t become a Democrat, you’re in fact born a Democrat.”
H. H. Lovett received his political education at the old country stores listening to the men argue and banter about the issues of the day. With mass communications very limited, the news of the day was often learned at these country stores. As a child, Lovett often heard the story of how his uncle Daniel Alexander Lovett, who also served as First District Magistrate, lost the sheriff’s race by a mere 2 votes. Another uncle’s campaign in 1894 furthered Lovett’s interest in politics when John G. Lovett ran a successful campaign for County Attorney. Though he was not old enough to vote, Lovett took a great interest in the scorching presidential campaign in 1896 which split the Democratic Party in two factions over the gold versus silver coinage issue. Influenced greatly by his uncles Daniel Alexander Lovett and John G. Lovett, he too identified with the conservative “Gold Democrat” wing of the party. However when the gold faction lost out at the 1896 Democratic convention when silverite William Jennings Bryan became the party nominee, Lovett and his family transferred their support to Bryan.
Lovett first came to voting age during the 1903 governor’s race. Governor J.C.W. Beckham was seeking a full term as governor and Lovett supported him. Beckham carried Marshall County and won the race in November. The following year in 1904, Lovett voted in his first presidential election for conservative Democrat and Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals Alton B. Parker over the progressive Republican and incumbent President Theodore Roosevelt. Parker carried Marshall County, the entire state of Kentucky, and the Solid Democratic South, but lost the race to President Roosevelt who was extremely popular nationwide.
The first presidential race Lovett truly became involved with was during 1912 when he worked to elect Democrat Woodrow Wilson. A rift between incumbent President William Howard Taft and his successor former president Theodore Roosevelt had split the Republican Party in two along ideological lines. Taft represented the conservative wing of the party while Teddy Roosevelt represented the progressive wing of the party. After a contentious nomination battle, Taft came out on top, but the Republican Party was badly splintered which prompted Teddy Roosevelt to continue his quest to reclaim the presidency by forming a third-party bid. With the Republican Party in tatters, Democrats all across the nation sensed an opportunity finally return a Democrat to the White House, the first since Grover Cleveland left in 1897. When Woodrow Wilson, a Virginian by birth, became the Democratic nominee, his candidacy sparked enthusiasm among Democrats all across the South including H.H. Lovett. Wilson was seen as a conservative Democrat yet moderate reformer who would uphold the principles of Jeffersonian Democracy while bringing forth social changes during a period which came to be known as the Progressive Era. Wilson began his quest for the presidency in his native Southland which was best explained by Arthur Link in his article Woodrow Wilson: The American as a Southerner, “While he was received enthusiastically, at times he was seen as reformist in nature, and considered provocative and radical by the conservative audiences, making the visit on the whole less than positive. However, as Wilson was the first Southerner to have a serious chance at the White House since 1848, Southern Democrats in general strongly supported Wilson’s campaign for the nomination. More of Wilson’s support came from younger voters in that region, including intellectuals, editors, educators, and lawyers.” Perhaps it was the combination of Wilson’s southern heritage and his background in education that appealed to Lovett, nevertheless Lovett worked diligently throughout the 1912 campaign to send Wilson to the White House.
Lovett always had a strong relationship with Paducah native and notable Democratic politician, Alben W. Barkley which began at their days at Marvin College and was strengthened throughout the years. Lovett and Barkley first worked together professionally when Barkley was serving as McCracken County Judge and their friendship grew when Barkley ran for Congress in 1912, the same year Wilson was vying for the White House. Barkley was also a strong Wilson man. Besides politics, the two men had a great deal in common. Both came from humble beginnings on western Kentucky farms, both belonged to the Methodist Church, and both had a love for history and the skill for telling stories. After Lovett was elected Marshall County Judge in the 1920s, he supported Barkley in his unsuccessful race for Governor in 1923 and it was during this race that Alben Barkley began the career-long tradition of speaking on the Marshall County Courthouse balcony on the night before every election to give one of his “rebel rousing, Republican bashing speeches to motivate Marshall County to bring home an old-time Democratic majority victory.” When Barkley chose to challenge incumbent Republican Senator Richard Ernst in 1927 for his United States Senate seat, Lovett served as Barkley’s Campaign Chair in Marshall County. Barkley was elected United States Senator and later became United States Majority Leader. When fellow Democrat A.B. “Happy” Chandler tried to unseat Barkley in the 1938 Democratic Primary, Lovett rallied Barkley supporters in Marshall County and helped Barkley retain his seat. Barkley later became United States Vice President under Harry S. Truman in 1948 which tremendously helped Marshall County and all of western Kentucky. In a 1970 interview Lovett recalled his friendship with Barkley, “I was fortunate to have been considered a special friend of Alben Barkley. I guess I have been many miles on his speaking tours and I heard nearly all of his stories he ever told. I have often said that no one has been as influential in Marshall County as Alben Barkley was.”
H.H. Lovett was an ardent fiscal conservative which often put him at odds with liberals within the Democratic Party. Sticking to his fiscal conservative principles in the late 1920s, Lovett took on Kentucky’s Democratic Governor William J. Fields and the state bonding issue. In the 1924 session of the Kentucky General Assembly, Governor Fields proposed $75 million in state bonds to finance the Kentucky Highway System and the state’s education system. The bond issue split the Democratic Party in two when former governor J.C.W. Beckham and Louisville Courier-Journal publisher Robert Worth Bingham voiced their opposition to its passage and worked to kill the measure. Despite their efforts, legislators narrowly passed the measure in the 1924 session and allowed the bond issue to be placed on the ballot for the people of Kentucky to decide.
Back in western Kentucky, Lovett rallied behind Beckham and Bingham and took their case of fiscal responsibility to the people arguing that passing the bond issue would only “kick Kentucky’s debt issue down the road” and further increase the state’s debt. Lovett argued that a more sensible proposal would be to raise the gasoline tax, so that the construction of the highway system and improvements to the education system would be paid for. “No one likes paying more taxes, but if we value our roads and the education of our youth then the fiscally moral thing to do is pay for these new programs up front and instead of pushing payment off to future generations,” Lovett argued in a Paducah speech. When the voters of Marshall County went to the polls on November 4, 1924, they overwhelming voted against the bond measure. State-wide the issue was rejected by a margin of 90,000 votes.
Despite being a fiscally conservative Democrat, Lovett initially supported the progressive presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt yet he was not as vocal about his support of FDR as he had been during earlier presidential elections. With hundreds in Marshall County losing their homes and farms and with many lacking work, Lovett felt that spending for New Deal programs was justified because it put the people back to work during the years of the Great Depression. Lovett especially supported the Tennessee Valley Authority which undoubtedly transformed and modernized western Kentucky for years to come by constructing the Kentucky Dam at Gilbertsville which provided much needed rural electrification and led to the chemical complex in Calvert City.